How does one photograph Delhi
without the results looking like
clichéd, tourist-friendly images
taken from the pages of a holiday
brochure? And how does a photographer
of David Bailey’s standing
portray India without seeming
condescending? These questions
are at the heart of Bailey’s new
two-volume book, The Delhi
Dilemma. Bailey, one of the most
successful photographers of his
generation, has traveled to India 15
times, and in this new series of
photographs he avoids focusing
on those cultural and economic
differences between East and
West that might make photos of
the country appear overly didactic.
Instead, he depicts the colors, textures
and characters that make
Delhi unique—a magenta sari, an
infant walking alone on a rust-colored
road, a bright blue plastic tarpaulin—
and so creates a portrait
of the city that is sensitive without
being self-indulgent.